Final South Shore weekend outage set for Oct. 31-Nov. 2

The South Shore in
northwest Indiana is alerting passengers to the last in a series of planned
temporary weekend construction outages. The fifth and final 2009 weekend outage
is scheduled for October 31 - November 2, 2009. South Shore trains will not operate in either direction between
South Bend and Gary Metro Center beginning 2:30 a.m. Saturday, October 31, thru
3:00 a.m. Monday, November 2.

The South Shore will
operate regular weekend train service between Gary Metro Center and Chicago.

NICTD is beginning Phase 2
of its overhead wire modernization program, which is between Michigan City and
Gary. The overhead wire, or catenary, supplies electricity for train propulsion.
This $18-million, three-year project will replace more than100 miles of
electrical conductor, some of which dates back to the 1920s. This wire is old
and brittle and subject to failure. These failures are the single leading cause
of significant service disruptions and lengthy train delays.